(55s) An Approach to Understanding Worker Interactions with Procedures Under Normal Working Conditions

Incidents in high-risk industrial settings are often attributed to the way in which procedures are used. Despite the identification of procedures misuse, little research has been conducted on how workers have interacted with procedures in normal conditions. To understand these interactions a behavior assessment technique has been developed which can describe how a worker interacts with a procedure to complete tasks in everyday work situations. interactions under normal conditions. Using the concept of work-as-imagined/work-as-done, the techniques describes the interactions at a macro whole-of-task level as well as an individual step level. At the macros level, assessment considers if the task was completed correctly and safely (Tier 0). At the micro step-level, assessment considers if the step was completed as it was imagined (Tier 1) or if the step was done in an alternate way (Tier 2). For the alternate approaches, assessment considers if the worker struggled or required assistance, completed the steps out of order or with iterations or if the step was not completed as intended.

Two studies, one involving industrial tasks Second Life® (Study 1), the other at Shells Robert, LA training facility (Study 2), were used to test and develop the behavior assessment technique. In Study 1, the behavior of 13 participants from offshore drilling conducting tasks in either day or night conditions was assessed. In Study 2 the behavior assessment technique was used to test if experience accounted for behavior difference in 25 participants from high-risk industries. Results demonstrate the success of applying the assessment techniques through identifying how the behavior of the participants changes according to their experience and familiarity with the tasks the were performing. Further analysis identified recommendations for design and work flow changes of both written procedures and specific equipment. In conclusion, the initial results suggest the assessment technique is an important contribution to the methods use for understanding early interventions to improve safety in the process industry.